This invention relates to a radiotelephone.
It has become desirable for users of radiotelephones to replace a broken or scratched housing of the radiotelephone easily without requiring any special training or tools. Also, users of radiotelephones may want to change the appearance of their radiotelephone by replacing its housing with another of a different appearance. While it is known to replace a front cover of a radiotelephone this only allows a user to replace a broken or scratched front cover or change the appearance of the front of the radiotelephone, not the overall appearance.
Typically, the front and rear housings of a radiotelephone retain the internal components of the radiotelephone. Therefore, the removal of the front and rear housings can result in the internal components of the phone becoming loose and/or exposed thereby increasing the risk of the components being damaged. Further, while the appearance of the radiotelephone battery, which is typically attached to the rear housing of the radiotelephone, can be modified to match that of the front cover the battery only covers a portion of the rear housing of the radiotelephone. Further, as a battery is a renewable item and may require to be changed separately to the front cover this would require suppliers to increase stocks of batteries to cover the range of different appearances or for a customer to wait while the battery is being manufactured and delivered.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided An electronic radiotelephone comprising a first housing, a second housing, and an inner housing having retaining means for retaining to the inner housing the electronic components of the radiotelephone; and first releasably attaching means for releasably attaching the first housing to the inner housing, wherein the first housing, when attached to the inner housing, is presented towards a user during operation of the radiotelephone; and second releasably attaching means for releasably attaching the second housing to the inner housing, wherein the second housing, when attached to the inner housing, faces away from the user during operation of the radiotelephone.
The present invention provides the advantage that a user is able to replace a broken or damaged front and rear cover or change the overall appearance of the radiotelephone without increasing the risk of the radiotelephone components being damaged and without the need for manufacture""s to produce a variety of batteries of different appearance for the same type of radiotelephone.
Preferably the inner housing has an external surface to allow a user to grip the inner housing to aid the releasing and/or attaching of the first or second housing from/to the inner housing.
This provides the advantage that a user is able to grip the radiotelephone sufficiently to allow removal of the first and second housings. The grip area preferably comprises an area on each side of the radiotelephone sized to allow a user""s finger and thumb to firmly grip the radiotelephone.
Preferably the first attaching means includes a latching member disposed on the first housing for engagement with a complementary latching member disposed on the inner housing.
Suitably the latching member disposed on the first housing is a lug formed on a resilient part of the first housing and the complementary latching member on the inner housing is a slot to allow the first housing to be push-fitted onto the first housing.
Preferably the second attachment means includes a latching member disposed on the second housing for engagement with a complementary latching member disposed on the inner housing.
Suitably the second attachment means allows the second housing and the inner housing to be slidably coupled.
Preferably the first and second housings have interlocking means which are arranged to interlock the first and second housings when the first and second housings are attached to the inner housing. This provides extra stability to the construction of the radiotelephone.
Preferably the second housing overlays a battery retained by the inner housing, thereby concealing the battery when the second housing is attached.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a first housing and second housing for an inner electronic radiotelephone housing having retaining means for retaining to the inner housing the electronic components of the radiotelephone, the first housing and second housing having releasable attaching means for releasable attaching to the inner housing so that the first housing is presented to a user during operation of the radiotelephone when the first housing is releasable attached to the inner housing and the second housing faces away from the user during operation of the radiotelephone when the second housing is releasable attached to the inner housing.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided set of exchangeable cover parts for enclosing a radiotelephone body containing the electronic components of the radiotelephone, said set of exchangeable cover parts includes an exchangeable front cover and an exchangeable rear cover, a first one of said set of exchangeable cover parts includes first locking means in a first end of said of first cover part for engaging the a lower end of the radiophone body in order to guide said of first cover part in a pivotal movement when attached to the radiophone body, and second locking means in the end opposite to the first end for engaging the upper portion of the radiophone body by means of a snap-on connection, a second one of said set of exchangeable cover parts for being slidable coupled to the first cover part when placed on the radiophone body, said second cover part includes third locking means for in the upper end of said second cover part for engaging said second locking means of the first cover part in order to prohibit a release of said snap-on connection when the set of exchangeable cover parts are assembled with the radiophone body sandwiched in between, fourth locking means for in the lower end of said second cover part for engaging said first locking means of the first cover part in order to prohibit a release said engagement when the set of exchangeable cover parts are assembled with the radiophone body sandwiched in between, and fifth locking means for interacting with locking means on the radiophone body in order to lock the slidability of the second cover part relatively to the first cover part hen placed on the radiophone body, and said fifth locking means are eleasably by means of a user operated release button.
For a better understanding of the present invention and to understand how the same may be brought into effect reference will now be made, by way of example only, to accompanying drawings, in which: